LOCKE
Lawson: Hi. Hello. Hey. I miss you assholes. I can’t wait to see you all.
Lawson: You’re all still coming to the party this afternoon, right?
Fox: They’d better be! Lilah’s expecting all of you to be there.
Keller: And if we don’t show, good boy?
Hutch: I’ll break your legs, rendering you useless for the Serpents this season, killing our chances at the Cup. Your fucking choice.
Lawson: Damn. That was aggressive.
Hutch: Then be here in an hour. Auden got sandwiches and shit, and she’s pregnant as hell. She’s the last person you want to piss off. Trust me.
Hayes: Aye aye, Captain.
Hutch: Fuck. Please don’t start that shit.
Locke: Aye aye, Captain.
Hutch: Really, Locke?! I trusted you!
Keller: Aye aye, Captain.
Lawson: Aye aye, Captain.
Fox: Aye aye, Captain.
Lawson: Fuck, man. You even got Foxy scared, and this party is partly for his girl.
Fox: I’m not scared. I’m just being a team player.
Lawson: Whatever you say, Foxy Baby.
Lawson: Oh, Locke?
Lawson: LOCKE???
Lawson: WHITLOCKE!!!!
Fox: Oh, snap. He used the full name.
Lawson: No, if I used his full name, I would have said Gavin Barry Douglas Whitlocke.
Locke: How the fuck do you know my full name?
Keller: Why the fuck do you have two middle names?
Hutch: Excellent question, Kells.
Locke: It’s a family thing.
Keller: Weird family, especially with names like that. Makes you sound even older than you already are.
Locke: Shut up, Keller.
Keller: Great comeback, old man.
Locke: I am not fucking old!
Lawson: You are, too. Just accept it, old-timer.
Lawson: Oooh, old-timer with the great one-timer! That has a nice ring.
Lawson: Though you tend to go top shelf more often than not.
Lawson: Anyway, like I was saying…
Lawson: Do you, like, remember black-and-white TV, Lockey Poo?
Locke: First of all, never call me that again. Secondly, how old do you think I am?
Lawson: IDK. Old? You were born in the ’80s, after all.
Locke: Fuck’s sake. Being born in the ’80s doesn’t make me THAT old.
Keller: He kind of acts like it, though. Did you hear him groan when he jumped over the boards during the playoffs last season? It was fuckin’ loud. I heard him from the ice.
Hayes: I heard him, too.
Fox: Come on, guys. Let’s be nice to Locke.
Fox: We might not have much time left with him.
Lawson: OH SNAP!
Lawson: Even the good boy called you old!
Fox: Please. I am begging you. Stop calling me that, Lawsy.
Lawson: Only if you stop blushing every time I do.
Hayes: You’re a fucking menace, you know that? Leave Foxy alone.
Lawson: That’s why they call me Lawless Lawson, baby!
Hutch: Literally nobody calls you that.
Hayes: You can’t give yourself your own nickname. That’s not how nicknames work. We’ve been over this.
Keller: Yeah, Lawson. Let me give you a nickname. I have plenty already locked and loaded.
Fox: Be nice, Kells…
Keller: What? I am being nice. I didn’t list a single one for the buttmunch.
Hutch: Is it stupid that just made me laugh?
Hayes: I’m right there with you, Hutchy.
Hutch: There’s just something so silly about being called a buttmunch.
Lawson: Yeah, yeah. Keller is SO funny. Back to my thing.
Lawson: Locke?
Locke: My grandparents had a black-and-white TV.
Locke: But it was a family heirloom! It’s not like we gathered around and watched it every night or anything. I’d just watch Saturday morning cartoons on it sometimes.
Lawson: SATURDAY MORNING CARTOONS?
Lawson: Fuck, I miss those. We should bring them back.
Lawson: Let’s do a slumber party one Friday night, then eat sugary cereal and watch cartoons on Saturday morning.
Keller: Abso—and I cannot stress this enough—fucking-lutely not. Never. Ever.
Hutch: Gotta go with Keller on this one. I’m not giving up time with my fiancée for you morons.
Hayes: Yeah, no. Besides, I already do Saturday morning cartoons with Flora.
Lawson: Boooooo!
Fox: I’ll watch Saturday morning cartoons with you. Can Lilah come?
Lawson: What? No! This is for the boys only! NO GIRLS ALLOWED!
Lawson: Locke?
Locke: No.
Lawson: WHY DO YOU ALL HATE ME SO MUCH?
Fox: We don’t. We love you, Lawsy.
Keller: Speak for your damn self, Foxy.
Lawson: I think this is a perfect plan. Let’s make it happen.
Hutch: Or not.
Hayes: Yeah, no. I’m out.
Lawson: COME ON!
Locke: I’ll pass.
Keller: Do I really need to say it again?
Fox: I’ll still come, Lawsy!
Lawson: Fine. Then Foxy Baby and I will have our OWN slumber party. None of you dicks are invited!
Hutch: Good.
Locke: Perfectly fine with that.
Hayes: Hallelujah!
Keller: Literally none of us are upset about this.
Lawson: By the way, have I told you lately how much I missed you? You guys are, like, my favorite people.
Lawson: Well, aside from Rory.
Lawson: She’s amazing. Last week, she let me be her assistant for a whole day. A WHOLE DAY! Sure, I had to watch her manipulate doggie anal glands, but it was magical still.
Keller: Please don’t make me barf.
Hayes: Let’s not get into this again.
Hutch: She’s about to be my sister-in-law. I already know how amazing she is.
Lawson: Damn, Hutchy. That was almost sweet of you.
Hutch: Tell no one.
Lawson: Sorry, bud. Screenshots are forever.
Hayes: You’re screenshotting our group chats?
Lawson: Of course I am. I have a whole folder dedicated to Keller telling me he loves me.
Keller: I have never said those words to you.
Lawson: Sure you have. You just say it in your own way, Kells.
Keller: The fuck I do!
I shake my head at my teammates as the group keeps going, my phone screen exploding with new messages. This time, it’s mainly between Lawson and Keller, the team’s neediest and grumpiest players, who are always at each other’s throats. It’s usually Lawson trying to get Keller to admit he loves him, which is quite entertaining.
That’s just how we show we love each other. Most days, our chats are obnoxious. On other days, they’re really obnoxious. But some days… Well, they’re still obnoxious. I wouldn’t trade being teammates with them for anyone else in the league, though. We’ve gone through a lot over these few years together, and we’re truthfully like family, even if some of us can’t admit it.
My phone continues to blow up, but I bow out of the conversation, instead trying to enjoy my last few minutes of peace before heading to Hutch’s place for the party. I know the second I step through Hutch’s door to celebrate his fiancée and Fox’s girlfriend launching their company, it will be bedlam again. Lawson and Keller will still be arguing. Hayes and his girlfriend, Quinn, will be there with Flora, and likely Pickles, because the cat goes everywhere with her. Hutch will hover over a very pregnant Auden, and Fox will fawn over Lilah. And I’ll just be standing there, taking it all in and wondering how we got to this point in the first place.
When we joined the Seattle Serpents, we all agreed we would stay single until each one of us lifted the Stanley Cup over our head. Two years later, that plan has been blown to hell thanks to several guys falling madly in love.
I don’t fault them for it. Who wants to be lonely? Who can even control that kind of thing? It was inevitable that something like this would happen, but now it means only two members of the Serpents Singles Club—a ridiculous name—actually remain single, and I’m one of them. The other is Keller, who we all know will never find love. I’ve never met anyone so vehemently against it before. It’ll be a cold day in hell before he ever lets that happen.
Unlike him, though, I’m not so against it. I never really have been. It’s hard to be when it’s all around me. My parents are still together and happily married. Each of my siblings is married and has children. Now, almost all of my teammates are in committed relationships too. It’s everywhere, so of course I believe in it. I’m just not so sure it’s going to happen for me. Any time I’ve tried in the past, it hasn’t lasted. Not to mention I haven’t felt anything even remotely close to having feelings for someone since…
No.
I don’t let myself go there. Back to New York. Back to that night. The one I’ve done everything to forget.
“Can I grab you anything else?”
I’m relieved when the barista breaks my thoughts apart. She’s at the front counter of The Coffee Spot, a rag in her hand as she wipes down the espresso machine. It’s getting close to closing time, and I assume this is her polite way of telling me to get the fuck out.
I grin. “I’m good, Kayla. Thank you. I’m heading out now. Thanks for letting me stay so late.”
“You know you’re always welcome here, Locke. Even if I do close in five minutes.” She tosses me a teasing wink.
I rise from my chair, then set my mug in the dirty dishes bin before sending her a wave on my way out the door. I climb behind the wheel of my SUV, which I parked just down the block, and cut my way into Seattle traffic. The drive to Hutch’s place isn’t long in distance, but that means nothing with the one-way streets, the closures for no real reason, and the overall shitty driving. By the time I pull into his driveway, my mood is sour, and all that peace I was striving for is nowhere to be found.
It’s been like that a lot lately. I search for calm, and all I find is chaos, this unruly feeling inside me like I’m being wrung out like a towel after a long day at the pool. I don’t know if it’s just me itching to get back out on the ice and start the season or what, but I know I need to do something to relieve all this tension or I won’t be worth a damn to my teammates.
Loud music—that’s certainly not coming from my speakers—rattles my SUV, and I look in the rearview mirror just in time to see Keller stop his Audi R8 inches from my bumper. When he catches me looking, he flips me off before flinging his door open. I meet him outside just as he pushes his sunglasses to the top of his head.
“You almost owed me a new AMG,” I say as a greeting.
“Please, I had plenty of time to stop. I’m still young with good reflexes, old man.”
There’s no smile. Not even a hint of one. But if I listen closely enough, I can hear the teasing in his voice.
“Whitlocke,” he says with a nod, even though I haven’t seen him since the exit interviews after we lost in the conference finals. Some guys stick around and do more training, some head home for the summer and train there. Others go on extended vacations. I went up north, and he went wherever it is he runs off to.
“Keller,” I return.
Then, against his will, I haul him into a hug, which he reluctantly returns with a single pat on my back.
“Good summer?”
He shrugs, looking off into the distance. “Was fine.”
Leave it to him not to reveal too much. He’s always been that way, always keeps his cards close to his chest and never lets anyone know what he’s truly feeling. I envy him sometimes. I wish I could be that detached and not give a shit, but it’s never been in my nature.
I blame my parents for that. They always forced us kids to share our feelings and talk about things. That’s not a bad thing, but sometimes…I don’t know. Sometimes I just want to shut it all off and let loose. Have fun. Not give a fuck.
It’d be an excellent trick for the ice, too. Maybe even improve my game, and everyone knows I could stand to get a little quicker. Could stick handle a little better. Check harder. Do all the little things just a bit better to keep myself in the league for at least a few more years.
“My summer was good, too. Thanks for asking.”
His lips twitch at my sarcasm, and it’s as close to a smile as Keller gets. There’s a commotion behind us, and we turn in time to see Lawson sprinting out the door, his girlfriend, Rory, attempting to hold him back.
It’s useless. He slips out of her grip, then charges right toward us, his arms wide open.
“My boys!”
He barrels into me, folding me into a hug that could rival that of a gorilla before quickly shoving me away. He grins right at Keller, who is already glaring.
“Don’t even fucking think about it, Lawsy.”
“Kells…” he says, tipping his head to the side, his smile widening. He takes a step toward our grumpiest teammate, who takes a step back.
“I’m so serious, Lawson. I will punch.”
“You won’t.”
“I fucking will,” he promises.
Lawson is either stupid or…well, stupid, because he launches toward Keller anyway. The latter bolts, making a run for it, and it takes Lawson all of two seconds to catch on and chase after him. I stand in disbelief, watching my teammates chase each other around the front lawn like a bunch of six-year-olds playing a game of tag at recess, only this game will likely end in violence.
Even Hutch, Auden, Fox, and Lilah stumble out of the house to watch the debacle unfold. Finally, after what feels like forever, Lawson catches Keller, throwing his arms around him and hugging him close.
“I got you! I got you! Now love me, you fucker!”
“Never!” Keller yells back, fighting him off easily. He then turns around and socks Lawson right in the gut, as promised.
“Hey!” Rory yells, already marching off the porch toward the two like she will be the one to stop this.
Her twin sister grabs her. “Let the boys play, Rory.”
“But he’s beating up my boyfriend,” she pouts to Auden.
“To be fair, he probably deserves it. I bet Keller even told him he’d get punched.”
“He did,” I confirm, going to stand by them as Lawson tries yet again to hug Keller. I give Hutch a quick hug. “Good to see you.”
“You too, man. Feels like forever. We hoped you’d stick around Seattle a bit this summer, maybe have a few grill sessions.”
“I told you he’d spend the whole time in Vancouver,” Auden says, poking Hutch playfully in the ribs before pushing her way between us and wrapping me in a hug—or a semi-hug. It’s the best she can do with such a big belly at this late stage in her pregnancy. “Good to see you, Locke.”
“You, too.” I look down at her stomach. “How’s it going? Everything as it should be?”
She grins, running her hand over her bump. “I hate every minute of it and cannot wait to get this baby out of me, but other than that, it’s wonderful. Everything is growing appropriately, and with any luck, I’ll deliver in the next week or so.”
“Launching a company and having a baby in the same week?”
“She’s superhuman, huh?” says her best friend Lilah, softly nudging Auden out of the way to hug me. “Good to see you again, Locke.”
“Congratulations on the business, Lilah. I’m so happy for you.”
“Happy enough to be a client of ours?” She raises her brows at me as she pulls away.
“Bet his nieces and nephews would love a pool too,” Fox says, elbowing his way in next. He wraps me in a hug that can only be described as warm and accepting before pulling away, patting my cheek with a proud grin. “Missed you, bud.”
It feels like a family reunion, complete with that one crotchety member who never wants to be touched. I nod at Rory, whom I know better than to try to hug. It will never cease to amaze me how she and Lawson ended up together, especially since they’re total opposites. I grin at her, then look back at the lawn, Lawson still running after Keller.
Hayes pulls into the driveway with a quizzical look on his face as he enters the scene. He steps out of his SUV and lets out a loud whistle that would have even the unruliest kids listening.
“Enough!” he hollers, sounding every bit like the dad he is, and they come to a halt, both leaning over to catch their breath.
We all snicker. Nobody ever expected Hayes, known for being a bit of a wild card, to settle down with his own family, but that’s precisely what he has done after getting guardianship of his niece. Quinn climbs out of the other side, Flora coming to stand beside her, Pickles by her feet as I suspected she would be.
“Are they playing tag? Can I play too, Just Quinn?”
I grin at the nickname Flora hasn’t let up on. Apparently, it was a sarcastic moment that turned into an inside joke, and it has continued since.
“Sure. Go on. Try to catch Uncle Keller and give him lots of huggies. He loves those.”
“Roger that!” she shouts as she takes off toward the grown men.
Once they spot her, they take off as well, trying to catch her as she giggles and darts away. It’s adorable, and maybe the most animated I’ve ever seen Keller.
It makes me miss my nieces and nephews instantly. As much chaos as they are, they’re so fun to be around, and I hated having to leave them and the rest of my family behind. Even though I love hockey and can’t imagine doing anything else with my life, I don’t exactly love the instability it can bring, which is part of why I’ve never bothered to settle down. I don’t want to put that burden on my partner, having to figure out shit like moving during a school year or missing all those little moments with my kid. First steps and first words. Kindergarten graduation and recitals.
If I’m going to have a family of my own, I want to be present for all of it, not just some of it. So, until I hang up my skates—something I don’t plan to do for quite a while—single is what I’ll remain.
Everyone laughs, pulling my attention back to what’s happening on Hutch’s front lawn, and I look just in time to see Flora skid to a stop, turning the tide on Lawson and Keller as she begins chasing them. The guys play along, letting her “catch” them, and I swear I see Keller actually smile. It’s brief, but it happens, and it’s kind of unsettling. Just as quick as it comes, it’s gone, and they’re all three trudging back to the porch, out of breath as Lawson carries Flora on his shoulders.
“I gave Uncle Keller lots of huggies like you said, Just Quinn!” the little girl announces with a big grin.
She snickers, either ignoring or not caring about the glare the hockey player throws her way. She just reaches up and high-fives the kid before we all head into the house. Everyone gathers in the expansive kitchen except Flora, who scampers off to chase Pickles around. Lilah passes out flutes of champagne as everyone chatters about their summer.
Hutch and Auden obviously got engaged and have been planning for the baby. Hayes and Quinn talk about spending time with Flora, and Lawson goes on a ten-minute diatribe about how much he learned about dogs and their anal glands…again. His fascination is concerning, but Rory just looks at him like he’s the most amazing man in the world. Keller says nothing, which is no surprise to anyone.
“Let me guess—family time for you, Locke?” Lawson says.
“Yep. Spent my time in Vancouver, except when we went to Disneyland. Might have overspent a bit. When’s hockey starting again?”
We all laugh, but I’m only slightly joking. It’s what I do, though. Each offseason, I always take my nieces and nephews on a vacation of their choosing. I figure it’s the least I can do since I can’t be there for them during the season. I’m always exhausted afterward and spend far too much money, but it’s well worth it. Those are memories they’re going to cherish for a long damn time to come.
“Well?” Auden says, looking at her best friend. “Shall we?”
Lilah smiles nervously, reaching for Fox for reassurance. I’m not even sure if she realizes she’s doing it, but the goalie is right there in an instant, wrapping his arm around her waist, and soothing away all her worries.
“I’m ready,” she says, her concern nowhere to be found.
We move to the dining room where a laptop sits open in front of an It’s a girl banner that’s been crossed out and replaced with It’s a Maddison Sinclair Designs! in some of the worst handwriting I’ve ever seen. I’m guessing that was all Fox and Hutch’s doing.
We gather around, Lilah and Auden in the middle. They both take a deep breath.
“Three, two, one!” Lilah counts down, then slams her thumb down on the space bar, and just like that, they’ve launched their luxury design company that caters to building you the perfect home from the ground up, including the interior.
Everyone cheers, with Hayes, Quinn, and Flora blowing into noisemakers. Where did those come from? Even Keller claps, seeming semi-enthused. Of course, Fox and Lilah start to make out to the point that Lawson has to pull them apart.
“Okay, break it up, break it up,” he says, pulling our goalie away from his girlfriend. “This is a party, not your sex den. Let’s celebrate!” He picks up a red cup and holds it in the air. “To Lilah!”
“Hey!” we all say, holding our flutes up as well.
“To Auden!”
“Hey!” we cheer again.
“And to Hutch’s inability to pull out, which means we’re getting a second generation! Long live the Serpents Singles group chat!”
“What’s pull out mean?” Flora asks, sending everyone who is not Hayes or Quinn into a fit of laughter.
Hutch smacks Lawson on the back of the head, making me laugh harder.
The doorbell chimes, and Lawson races off toward it like he lives here or something.
“Anyone else think he’s getting extra exhausting lately?” Hayes asks.
“He’s always extra exhausting. It’s like you people never listen to me,” Keller grouses.
“That’s because you hate everyone and everything. You don’t count,” I say.
Keller shrugs.
“Uh, Hutchy?” Lawson calls, walking back into the room.
“Yeah?” our captain answers.
“Someone’s at the door for you.”
“Who the hell is it?” Hutch growls, irritated by Lawson’s vagueness.
“Was hoping you’d tell us.”
Our star forward steps aside, revealing a tiny blonde woman standing behind him. Everything inside me freezes, but only for a moment, because it suddenly thaws, and I’m vibrating, from my fucking head right down to my toes tucked tight into my shoes. Every damn inch of me is shaking with…well, I’m not entirely sure what.
Someone gasps, but not even that pulls my attention. I am too focused on the woman clutching her bag tightly. Too fixated on the blonde locks I know feel like fucking silk. Too damn engrossed in the way she drags her tongue across her bottom lip, the one that tasted like pink and cherries. I didn’t even know it was possible to taste colors, but I swear, if that one had a flavor, it would be her lips.
I am just too fucking distracted to pay attention to anyone else right now. Anyone other than her.
“Uh, who is that?” Lawson asks. I’d laugh at his piss-poor attempt to whisper, but I’m still too busy staring.
Hayes answers with, “I think that’s his sister.”
“Stepsister,” Hutch corrects. “What are you doing here, Vanessa?”
Vanessa.
I haven’t heard that name in… I guess technically I haven’t heard it at all. She wasn’t Vanessa to me. She was someone else. She was Nessa.
“Sorry, I…I didn’t mean to intrude.” She pushes her hair behind her ear. “It looks like you’re having a party. I just…”
Her dark green eyes find me, and I hold my breath. I’ve waited months to see her look at me again, but there’s nothing. Not a smile. No spark. Not even a flicker of recognition. Not a single hint of the night we spent together in a New York hotel room.
There’s emptiness, and it hurts. Almost as badly as knowing the last person I felt something for…is my captain’s stepsister.
And she is completely off-limits.
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